Tan Xinzhang said: “That’s my father, Tan Yingjiu. But he’s old now and very hard of hearing, so he can’t hear people clearly. He doesn’t interact much with people, spending all day tending to these animals.”
“He’s not just the zoo director, but also the purchasing agent, janitor, ticket seller, veterinarian, keeper, and tour guide… Every morning at 5 o’clock, he rides his tricycle to buy food for the animals. When he returns, he cleans the pens, feeds and waters the animals, occasionally receives visitors, and stays busy from morning until night. That’s how his days pass.”
“I do like animals and often help him, but… he wants me to take over, and I don’t think I can do it.”
“After my father passes away, I’ll probably send all these animals to other zoos and not continue this business.”
Pei Qian asked, “The economic benefits aren’t good?”
Tan Xinzhang smiled bitterly, “How can you say ‘not good’? It’s purely losing money.”
“The cost of keeping animals is too high. Pythons and crocodiles need to eat live prey—whether it’s chickens or fish, do you know how much they consume in a day? Tibetan mastiffs, mules, and macaques are relatively easier, but my father doesn’t want to save money on their care.”
“Besides the ticket revenue, my father has put in a lot of his retirement money, just to ensure these animals can eat well. But that’s the limit—making sure they eat well is already difficult enough. As for renovating the enclosures, we don’t even dare to think about it.”
“The key is that my father lives worse than the animals. Do you see that dilapidated bungalow next to the enclosures? My father lives there, and he barely eats properly, just making do with whatever’s available. If he were a few decades younger, it might not be an issue, but at his age, he can’t keep going like this.”
“When I was young, my parents divorced, and this zoo was a major factor.”
“To be honest, I’m quite conflicted. I know my father has had a difficult time, so I try to help him as much as possible. But if I help too much, he always wants me to take over.”
“But I feel that there’s no need for this zoo to continue existing.”
“This zoo used to be quite popular because the environment was relatively isolated, and people in this small county had nowhere else to see animals. But now that the economy has developed, not to mention going to large wildlife parks, isn’t it convenient to drive to Jingzhou Zoo to see animals? Who would come to this kind of zoo anymore?”
“The decreasing ticket sales are enough to show that private zoos like this are no longer popular and should be phased out.”
“Although I like animals, I’m also human and need to live a normal life. I can’t be like my father, spending thirty or forty years of my life consumed by these animals.”
“Ah, I’ve said too much, I shouldn’t be talking about this. Come, Mr. Pei, let me show you these animals.”
Tan Xinzhang led Pei Qian to several horses, which looked quite spirited and were happily eating hay.
Upon seeing Tan Xinzhang, a brown horse approached, and after Tan Xinzhang patted its head, it snorted happily.
Afterward, they looked at the macaques and pythons kept indoors, which also appeared to be in good spirits. The monkeys in particular were jumping up and down asking for food, seeming even more lively than monkeys in some large zoos, though this might have been an illusion.
But inevitably, there was a strong odor, and the overall environment was far from good.
Although old man Tan Yingjiu cleaned every day, given these conditions, it was impossible to maintain good sanitation no matter how much cleaning was done.
However, Pei Qian wasn’t concerned about these issues at the moment; he was thinking about what Tan Xinzhang had said.
This thing was purely losing money!
It was even more promising than he had imagined!
Taking this zoo as an example, the ticket price was only 20 yuan—what could you do with 20 yuan these days? And these animals’ daily food alone was a huge expense. Many carnivores required live prey, making their food costs higher than for humans.
If these animals developed any health issues, that would cost even more.
Many people couldn’t even keep cat cafés running, and the difficulty of raising wild animals was incomparably higher than managing a cat café.
Yet old man Tan Yingjiu had persisted for thirty years, even raising lions and ostriches. Without strong will, belief, and love, it would have been absolutely impossible to continue.
However, from Tan Xinzhang’s words, Pei Qian gained some insights.
How could a zoo lose money?
The most important point was that it had to be small, not too large.
A small zoo with few animal species would seem uninteresting, and even with reduced ticket prices, it couldn’t achieve the effect of low-profit, high-volume sales.
In the past, due to less developed economies and transportation, people would visit small zoos. Now, with such advanced transportation, not to mention zoos abroad or in first-tier cities, even the city-level zoos could satisfy most of the demand in Handong Province.
Therefore, small zoos with few animal species would have increasingly less room to survive, gradually falling into a vicious cycle.
Old man Tan Yingjiu had spent most of his life on this zoo, so of course he was unwilling to accept this reality. But Tan Xinzhang was a young man who saw the situation much more clearly than his father.
That’s why Tan Xinzhang said that after his father passed away, he would close the zoo and send the animals to other zoos.
He was also human and needed to live. If old man Tan Yingjiu’s generation had divorced because of this zoo, given Tan Xinzhang’s current situation, continuing to struggle with this zoo would make marriage virtually impossible.
Pei Qian couldn’t help but smile slightly. Isn’t this a fortunate coincidence?
You’ve met me, so we can really work something out!
Pei Qian took a brief tour of the zoo and nodded with satisfaction: “Hmm, not bad.”
“I’m thinking of moving this entire zoo to Jingzhou, with you as the director. What do you think?”
Tan Xinzhang was stunned: “Huh?”
He never expected Mr. Pei to say such a thing.
By the most optimistic estimate, if Mr. Pei arranged for some employees to visit or, moved by compassion, donated some money, that would already have been quite good for Tan Xinzhang.
Why move the zoo?
Anyone could see that this zoo had no value whatsoever!
These dilapidated buildings should have been demolished long ago, and as for the animals, though some were wild, they weren’t anything special or rare compared to those in other zoos.
And to have him be the director? He wasn’t qualified at all!
Surely a zoo director should be a college graduate with professional training, right?
Tan Xinzhang hurriedly said: “Mr. Pei, this isn’t appropriate. If you want to establish a zoo, you can just do it directly. These animals aren’t rare species, so they’re not worth it.”
“As for the director position, that’s even less suitable. Modern zoos require scientific feeding practices and professional expertise. My father and I are self-taught; although we’ve learned some knowledge on our own, we’re far from qualified to run a large zoo…”
Tan Xinzhang knew that if Mr. Pei wanted to create a zoo, it would certainly not be small in scale, as that wouldn’t align with Tenda’s style.
Pei Qian’s expression turned serious: “Well, that’s not the right way to look at it.”
“It doesn’t matter whether animals are rare or not; they are all equal. How can we discriminate? These animals have been with you and your father for so many years, so there must be some emotional connection. If you send them to other zoos with so many animals, they might not be treated as well as they are now.”
“For my zoo, the initial phase will focus on experimentation, and we won’t rashly raise rare animals. I think these animals are quite good. Although they’re ordinary, they’re in good spirits and happy, and that’s enough.”
“As for the director position, you don’t need to worry. I think the most important thing is to have a heart that truly loves animals. Professional knowledge is manageable—I’ll arrange for professionals to assist you, including professional keepers and veterinarians. If you need any advice, just ask them.”
“You’re the director, so you don’t need to worry about these details.”
“What truly moves me is the spirit that you and your father have shown!”
“Of course, I completely understand the current situation. Rest assured, the new location is not far from the Jingqi Inn. Although it’s in the suburbs of Jingzhou, the surrounding area is quite lively with convenient transportation. By then, you two will be official Tenda employees with all the benefits and compensation. These animals will also receive better care, with significant improvements in both diet and living conditions.”
Tan Xinzhang’s expression was puzzled.
This… sounded good in every way.
But the question was, what was Mr. Pei getting out of this?
This seemed like a pure money-burning activity with no meaning whatsoever.
Seeing Tan Xinzhang’s hesitation, Pei Qian added: “How about this—you can sign a contract with Tenda first, then I’ll allocate some funds to you. For this zoo here, you can hire a few people to help the old man manage it. You’ll go to Jingzhou and be fully involved in the preparation process for the new zoo. That way, there won’t be anything to worry about, right?”
Tan Xinzhang thought about it and realized this made sense.
Although he couldn’t figure out Mr. Pei’s motives for doing this, he also couldn’t think of any reason to refuse.
“Alright, Mr. Pei. Let me discuss this with my father first, help him understand the situation, and make some arrangements for this zoo. Then I’ll come to Jingzhou to find you.”
Pei Qian nodded: “That works. Just contact me directly when you’re ready.”
Having selected the zoo director, Pei Qian didn’t linger and headed back by car.
Although the director was decided, the specific operating model of the zoo still required careful consideration.
While this zoo was already losing money, Pei Qian didn’t plan to completely copy its model, as the objective conditions had changed.
If this zoo continued to operate here, even if he bought it outright, how much money could it burn? A drop in the bucket.
Pei Qian’s idea was to move the zoo to Jingzhou and explore a scalable way to burn money. Once this model was successfully tested, all he would need to do was continuously expand the scale, allowing for unlimited money burning. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?